


Apricity—Your Warm Touch

by emicha



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Aged-Up Characters, Angst, F/M, Finding Peace, Healing, Longing, Mental Health Issues, Post-Canon, Post-War, Slow Burn-ish, fools but in love, ratings and warnings might change later on
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-15 20:42:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28819425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emicha/pseuds/emicha
Summary: It has been four years since the war has ended.  Some wounds reach deeper than others and in order to heal, one has to hurt first.  Going on with burning scars, Katara and Zuko try to make their way through life. Some paths may seem dark and endless like the midst of Winter– but the sun will always make life blossom into beauty with its warm touches.multi-chapter fic; rating/ warnings/ characters might be adjusted with later chapters.Please enjoy! ♡
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 21





	Apricity—Your Warm Touch

**Author's Note:**

> apricity: _from Latin: aprīcitās (“warmed by the sun”); (obsolete) The warmth of the Sun in Winter._

**I.**

_4th Year of Peace; late Summer_

_Ba Sing Se_

Katara closed her eyes against the throbbing pain behind her temples.

The gentle music felt like an assault on her ears and her knees hurt from sitting in the same position for far too long. She attempted to shift her weight a little, but the low table and her thigh skirts made movement almost impossible—confined like this, there was little she could do to escape her growing discomfort. She inhaled sharply.

Albeit Summer was fading quickly over Ba Sing Se, the air within the crowded banquet hall was oppressively hot. Cold sweat was running down her spine, making her silken dress stick unpleasantly to her boiling skin. Her heartbeat echoed through her bones and she had to bury her hands in her lap to stop them from shaking.

Aang's animated conversation with the Earth Kingdom dignitary merged with the dizzying noise around her.

If only someone would open a window, she thought, so that she could at least breathe properly.

She exhaled slowly, trying to calm herself.

Next to her, Aang let out a loud laugh.

It was no use.

Blindly, she grabbed for her cup and emptied the cold tea in it in one shaking gulp.

As so often lately, Katara had failed to get the punchline. 

She only dared to open her eyes when the musicians disbanded for an intermission; it was not like anybody was really listening to them anyway. Katara had to blink a few times against the bright lantern light before she was able to take in the lavishly decorated banquet hall. Fine robes and pale faces bled into one blurry picture of haughtiness. The sight did little for her building headache, but she forced herself to focus. 

The Earth King and Queen had spared neither effort nor expense to present their heir to everybody of rank and name and Katara was under no illusion that her own name had only made it on the guest list because she was the Avatar’s girl.

Letting her gaze wander over the fine society, she noticed a group of young women looking over at her. Katara inclined her head a little and gave them a forced smile, which she regretted instantly. The women started to giggle, hiding their painted faces behind their precious fans the moment they had become aware of her attention.

Katara averted her eyes; she should have known better. It was not for the first time that she wondered if any of these people would actually care to recall her name outside of their foolish gossip. 

Katara had always made friends easily, but since the war had ended, people seemed less approachable—at least to her. It was not like she was openly disliked when she arrived somewhere with Aang, but Katara knew that most people snickered behind her back or were only pleasant because they thought it would get them closer to the Avatar. Although she was always tolerated, she could not recall the last time she, Katara, had actually felt welcomed somewhere. She hated how much it hurt.

A servant appeared out of nowhere and took her empty teacup away. 

“Do you want anything else, my lady?”

Yes, she wanted to cry. She wanted to scream.

Katara wanted to _leave_.

“Baijiu, please,” she said instead.

“Honey?” 

Katara was not sure how much time had passed, and she almost startled, when Aang’s sweaty palm came to rest on her hand. Fighting the urge to pull away, she looked up at the Earth Kingdom dignitary, who had risen from his seat and was about to take his leave. Although she had not exchanged two full sentences with him, Katara rose hastily to return his curt bow. 

At least she had been able to pull her hand free.

At least she could stretch her sore legs for a moment.

At least this had given her the opportunity to spot the Fire Lord in the crowd. 

He and General Iroh stood right by the earth King and Queen, looking at the bundle in Her Majesty’s arms. The General cooed at the baby and smiled at the proud mother every now and then, while Zuko attempted to imitate his uncle’s excited demeanour. He had not gotten any better at acting, it seemed. 

A soft chuckle escaped Katara’s lips. 

Zuko had left his crown at home and wore a deep Earth Kingdom green. Without his usual robes and austere hairstyle, he looked almost boyish again—yet not less handsome. Green did suit him well, if only he were not tucking at his sleeves like a nervous child. 

Tilting her head, Katara wondered if he, too, felt entirely out of place.

As if Zuko had felt her gaze on him, he turned his head towards her. Their eyes locked but for a moment, until yet another dignitary sat down at her table, blocking Zuko from her view. 

Slowly, Katara sank back to her knees. 

“Avatar Aang, may I?”

Nobody had invited him, but the elderly man made to pour Aang a drink nonetheless. He laughed when Aang airbend the carafe into his own hands to fill the man’s glass. 

“Please, sir, let me. How do you do?”

The men fell into easy conversation, although Katara knew Aang had no idea who this dignitary was. She did, though. Katara knew them all and wished this one would leave their table as fast as he had appeared. 

“His Majesty has truly blessed our great kingdom with such a strong son,” cried Secretary Ma, raising his glass. 

Katara hated his runny pig nose, his bug-like eyes that deliberately avoided her as if she were not even there.

He and Aang drank to the Crown Prince’s health, while Katara looked down at her nails, trying to blend their conversation out as best as she could.  
The ache in her legs had finally numbed and her head felt clear enough to appreciate the soft music now; maybe this evening was not so bad after all?  
Katara took another sip from her drink, wondering when Zuko and his uncle had arrived and how she had not known that they would be here to begin with. Would it be very presumptuous of her to simply get up and ask for their royal company? She and Zuko had not corresponded in quite a while—she remembered his last letter only vaguely; it had been so long ago, which was probably her fault, as she had stopped replying.

“And when can we expect any youngsters of your own, Avatar Aang?” 

Stunned out of her thoughts, Katara’s body tensed. She needed a moment to comprehend the words. She must have had misheard. They were not nearly old enough to be asked something like this!  
Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Aang blush and, to her horror, realised that she had not misheard at all. 

“Well, we're not even married yet,” Aang said cheerfully. “But hopefully in a couple of years? You never know, I guess.”

Only a few months ago she might have laughed it off with him. 

“You’ll want to secure your line quickly, young man!”

But today, Katara put her cup down with far more force than necessary. 

The cup broke on impact; ceramic splinters dug deep into her palm. Katara barely registered the mixture of blood and alcohol freeze solid before it could trickle down the table. 

The men stopped their conversation mid-sentence to stare at her.

“Avatar Aang and I will have children when _I_ see fit to bear them.” 

Ma raised an eyebrow at her but quickly returned his attention to the baffled Avatar. 

Angry heat rose in her cheeks. Katara knew that look, could almost hear it. 

_You might want to get your woman in check, young man…_

She was inclined to find out whether she could make Ma choke on his own snot, but eventually, it was Aang’s attempt to grab her wrist that made her skin crawl. Suddenly, the banquet hall felt too oppressive again. Too hot. Too loud.  
 _She needed to leave, now._

Pulling her arm away, Katara stood. 

“And considering the new mining laws you pushed to get passed, _Secretary Ma_ ,” she almost spat his name. “As a Waterbender, I don’t appreciate polluted rivers, nor would I let any child of mine come anywhere near them any time soon.”

≈

Katara had, admittedly, not left gracefully. After storming out of the banquet hall, she had gotten utterly lost on the endless paths of the Earth Kingdom palace. She was in no hurry, though, she knew Aang would not come after her. 

The sun had gone down before she found an abandoned section of the Royal Gardens from where she could look out over the endless roofs of Ba Sing Se. 

Katara sat down on the stone bench by the pond to examine her palm. Frowning, she pulled the remaining ceramic splinters from her skin; the cuts were not too deep, but she was hurting nonetheless. 

It would be no effort to make the injury disappear, pretend like it had never happened and go back inside. She could return to the Avatar’s table, apologise to Ma for her rudeness and go on as usual. 

Breathing in the mild evening air, Katara knew she would do neither tonight. 

Instead, she wiped the blood off on her silken skirts and went over to the stone railing. 

Somewhere beyond the Great City was an entire ocean calling for her. 

She found herself longing to float on its surface or to drown in its depths; either way was fine, as long as she was free to drift with her own current. 

Katara imagined where she would wash ashore. Up North? Ember Island? Somewhere she had never been before? Maybe her family was right and it was even time for her to come home…? 

If only she were not stuck here, though.

Fighting the hot tears that had been burning in her eyes all evening, Katara pressed her forehead against the cold stone. 

Spirits, what was she _doing_? 

She had realised quite a while ago that _here_ was everywhere she had been in the past couple of months—years even. 

_Here_ was anywhere she and Aang would go next. 

It was foolish of her to think that she was stuck in a place, when it was life Katara was deadlocked in. 

A slender crescent moon had risen when she heard footsteps approach from somewhere behind the peony bushes. 

It was the familiar sound of his gait that had given him away, although Katara feigned ignorance until she was sure he was but a few steps behind her. Discreetly patting her cheeks dry, she waited for him to speak. 

“Katara?” 

Only then did she turn as if surprised by his presence. A dim flame had blossomed to life in the dark garden, illuminating the curious amber eyes looking at her. 

“Zuko, what are you doing here?”

The Fire Lord considered her in the weak light, before slowly joining her by the railing. 

“Took my chances to run when the baby vomited in the King’s lap.” 

She frowned up at him. 

Had he grown taller since they had last met?

When had that even _been_?

“The Crown Prince puked in the King’s lap?” 

Zuko nodded. 

“I wish you’d seen it. It was... well,” he gestured awkwardly with one hand. “It was a lot of puke... It’s mayhem in there.” 

His side-eyed look did not escape her, nor had the sorry attempt to make her laugh. Raising one eyebrow, it was Katara’s turn to study him—not that it was difficult. 

Questions were written all over his painfully casual demeanour. 

He had seen her stunt earlier and was bursting to ask what was going on. 

There was no use dancing around it, so Katara decided to end both their misery.

Turning back towards the city, she put her head on the railing, hiding her face in the crook of her arm. Suddenly, Katara felt awfully tired.

“Just ask why I ran out like a bee-stung hippo-cow, Zuko,” she moaned.

Embarrassment had settled into her bones at last. 

For a moment, there was silence; Zuko had let the small flame in his palm die away, engulfing them in darkness. His elbow brushed against hers when she felt him mirror her pose. 

“I guess that old guy was talking shit. In any case, you looked like you wanted to stab him.” 

She scoffed, secretly glad that she did not have to explain herself after all. “The night is still young. I might get another opportunity yet.” 

“I hope not,” Zuko said, but she could hear the mischief in his voice. “Too many witnesses in there.” 

Raising her head, Katara caught him sneaking at her with his good eye. 

Spirits, she had missed him.

“Why, that is just _too_ bad,” she grinned and, soon, they were laughing together like unruly children—as if everything were alright. As if nothing had changed.

It took them a couple of minutes to compose themselves again; Katara watched as Zuko’s broad shoulders kept shaking from suppressed laughter and smiled to herself.

“It’s good to see you, Fire Lord.” 

“It’s good to see you, too, Master Katara.” 

They looked out over the Great City. 

She listened to Zuko talk about the unusually dry season the Fire Nation had been suffering through; that he had finally broken up with Mai and how any noble was now pestering him to meet their daughters. Katara patted his arm, assuring him he was doing a great job.

“I’m sorry to hear you guys broke up, though,” she said.

Zuko shook his head. “I’m not. It was long coming.” 

“Again?”

“No. For real, this time,” he sighed with a mixture of sorrow and relief. “She’s long gone, Katara.” 

Understanding, she nodded. 

“What about you?”

Katara did not imagine the hesitation in his words; it was the same kind of caution she had perceived in his last letters to her all those months ago.

_How are you?_

_Wherever you are right now, I hope everything is well._

_Katara, are these letters even reaching you…?_

Averting her eyes, she started plucking at her skirts. 

As so often, she wondered what she was supposed to tell him. 

That she had nothing mildly interesting enough to talk about these days? 

That her emotions were a muddled mess?

That she wanted to run from her relationship as fast and far as she possibly could?

Silence did not feel like an option _now_.

“Well, it’s…”

Katara fell silent when loud giggles penetrated the comfortable peace of their garden. 

Soft voices approached fast and when they turned to look behind them, Katara and Zuko spotted an obviously drunk couple making out on the stone bench by the pond. 

They exchanged a telling look. 

“I think I’ve got an idea,” Zuko whispered and held out his hand. 

He was offering somewhere else but _here_ , so Katara did not think twice and put her undamaged hand in his. 

Together, they stole away into the night. 

≈≈

“Are we really breaking into General Iroh’s teahouse?”

Covered by darkness, they had sneaked out of the Earth Kingdom palace. Katara had let herself be guided all the way through the endless cobbled streets until they had made it to the famous Jasmine Dragon. The stately house laid dark and empty for the night—and properly secured. Zuko had cursed upon realising that his uncle did no longer hide the keys to his teahouse in the flowerpot by the entry. 

“We’re not breaking in, Katara,” he whispered, clearly scandalised by her interpretation of him tampering with the door to the teashop. 

Keeping an eye on the empty streets, Katara blocked her friend from potential onlookers—just in case anybody came by. She was not especially concerned for her own reputation, but she assumed it would be bad publicity if someone caught the Fire Lord entering a highly esteemed Earth Kingdom establishment by force. 

“This is the definition of breaking in, Zuko.”

She had to suppress a laugh when he cursed once again. 

“I’m telling you, we’re not breaking in!”

The door lock broke under his weight a moment later. Spinning around, Katara saw a bewildered Zuko sprawled out on the threshold.

"I will pay for it," he said sheepishly, staring at the doorknob in his hands. 

Sighing, Katara ushered him inside and closed the door behind them as well as she could.

"So this is how you burn your people's tax money?" 

There was a faint scent of Ginseng and Oolong in the air as they entered the Jasmine Dragon’s main room, which was already set to receive its guests for the next day. Scowling, Zuko led her to one of the tables. 

“Do you want tea or not, Waterbender?”

Zuko returned with a tray of tea and delicate mooncakes a couple of minutes later. Katara’s stomach growled at the sight, only now realising that she had barely eaten all day.

“Well, at least you know what to do, should your Fire Lord thing end up not working out.” 

Rolling his eyes, he set the teapot, cups and cakes on the table; placing the one remaining small bowl of water in front of her.

“It’s fresh from the well.”

Frowning, Katara followed his gaze to her injured hand. _Oh._

“Don’t you want to heal it? It might scar.” 

The cuts in her palm had already begun to heal naturally; a thin layer of crust was holding her skin together and she realised that the fading pain kept her anchored. 

“Maybe that wouldn’t be a bad thing,” Katara mused softly, before biting into one of the delicious mooncakes.

Zuko sat down across from her, preparing the tea.

She caught him sneaking at her again, but this time he spoke before she could call him out on it. 

“Did you and Aang have a fight?”

“You can't fight with someone who's always having the moral high ground.”

Zuko nodded. 

“Do you wanna talk about it?”

“No,” shaking her head, Katara took the steaming cup of tea he was offering her. 

“Not tonight.”

≈≈≈

 _Dear Zuko,_ _  
__  
__I know this letter is late, but I hope you arrived home safely and that General Iroh wasn’t cross with you about the broken door. Please, give him my kindest regards._ _  
__I’ll give you my share of the repair cost next time we see each other. I can’t possibly bear to burden your subjects’ purses with my senseless acts of mischief. Not that it wasn’t worth it, though._ _  
__Thanks to you, I truly had the best cup of tea in ages.  
_ _But enough of that. I’ll keep this letter short, as I’m on my way to the Northern Water Tribe, where I plan to stay until some time after the Winter solstice.  
_ _Maybe we could meet there, so you can collect your money. It would be greatly appreciated…_ _~~I wish~~  
_ _ ~~Maybe~~  
_ _ ~~Why don’t we~~  
_ _Nevermind the money, I did not write because of that.  
_ _ ~~Has Aang~~  
_ _Maybe you’ve heard the news already. If so: Please, let me explain in person.  
_ _If not, let me be the one to tell you.  
_ _ ~~Please~~  
_ _It would mean a lot to me.  
_ _Chief Arnook has sent you a more official invitation to the solstice. It should arrive soon. Don’t feel pressured to accept, if you can’t or don’t want to. I know this is sudden and that you must be busy._

_All the same, I hope to see you soon._

_Stay safe,_

_Katara_

_  
P.S.: You were right, my hand has scarred. But I was right, too. It’s not too bad._

**Author's Note:**

> And that was chapter one.  
> I already had like 3 strokes writing this, so I guess it’s going well!  
> This is my first multi-chap. FF in a literal decade, so please bear with me; I’m not a planner, nor am I to be trusted.  
> Anyway,  
> I had a really hard time deciding on the character’s ages here. Originally, I wanted Katara to be 20ish, but I truly don’t believe she would’ve put up with Aang for 6+ years; so I went with 4-5 instead, which makes no huge difference, but still makes Aang a minor and this is that. So, Katara is 19ish, while Zuko is around 20, since I have a head-canon that they’re not two full years apart in age.
> 
> At this point, I would also like to express my deepest appreciation of quora.com, where I learned that Waterbenders should technically be able to bend and thus freeze alcohol. I don’t understand how, but I’m a writer and not a scientist.
> 
> I hope you liked chapter I and will be back for the next one!  
> Thank you for reading this far; feedback is greatly appreciated! ♡♡♡
> 
> P.S: sorry for the tacky summary, I have no excuse.


End file.
